The National Democratic Institute (NDI), or National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, is a non-profit American NGO that works with partners in developing countries to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions.
The NDI's core program areas include citizen participation, elections, debates, democratic governance, democracy and technology, political inclusion of marginalized groups, and gender, women and democracy, peace and security, political parties, and youth political participation. The organization's stated mission is to "support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government."
The NDI was founded in 1983, shortly after the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
created the
National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The NED's creation was followed by the establishment of three related institutes: the Center for International Private Enterprise, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and the
National Republican Institute for International Affairs (later renamed the International Republican Institute). The NED provides funds to these three institutes and an expanding number of private sector groups so that they are able to carry out their programs abroad.
The NDI claims to be non-partisan and does not operate in the United States; it takes no position on U.S. elections, although it has a loose affiliation with the
Democratic Party, and is a "cooperating organization" with the
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
.
Activity
The National Democratic Institute has worked in 156 countries and territories around the world and supported the efforts of 16,000 civic organizations, 925 political parties and organizations, 10,000 legislators, and 1,300 women's organizations. Furthermore, NDI has organized over 200 international election observer delegations in over 67 countries. Through its local partners, NDI has helped train and deploy 4 million election observers in 350 elections and referendums in 85 countries and has trained 600,000 party poll-watchers in more than 50 countries. It has helped partner groups organize 400 candidate debates in over 35 countries.
Chile
The NDI started its activities in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
in 1985. Its programs promoted
free election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has oper ...
s, working together with opposition leaders. In 1988, it participated in the United States campaign for the ''No'' at the
Chilean national plebiscite. The
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
budgeted this campaign with that the
National Endowment for Democracy distributed through the NDI, the
National Republican Institute for International Affairs,
Free Trade Union Institute
The Solidarity Center is a non-profit organization aligned with the AFL–CIO labor federation. It is one of the core grantees of the National Endowment for Democracy.
Its stated mission is to help build a global labor movement by strengthening t ...
, and the
Center for International Private Enterprise. The NDI participated organizing seminaries, sending political consultants, and an election observation mission.
Nicaragua
In the 1980s, the NDI participated in the broader
National Endowment for Democracy programs against the
Nicaraguan Revolution
The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation F ...
.
Northern Ireland
In the 1980s, the NDI provided support to the
Social Democratic and Labour Party in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
to strengthen its democratic principles.
Ukraine
In the 2000's, NDI worked with election monitoring organizations such as the Committee of Ukrainian Voters to provide financial and technical assistance to develop election monitoring capabilities. This monitoring played a salient role in popular uprising against electoral fraud during the
Orange Revolution.
United States
They are partnered with Gov2U an organization acquired by
Scytl.
Venezuela
According to an article in the American socialist magazine ''
Jacobin'', after the death of
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
, the NDI provided funding and training to the
Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition of opposition parties in Venezuela. The MUD used the NDI's assistance to create a voter database and target swinging voters through
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
. In 2015, the opposition won a majority in the
Venezuelan National Assembly for the first time since 1999 and the NDI said a "determining factor in the success of the coalition in the parliamentary elections of 2015 was a two-year effort prior to the elections to raise awareness, train and align national and regional structures of communication of all the parties that conform the MUD".
Sources of funding
NDI receives financial support from the
National Endowment for Democracy, the
US Agency for International Development, the
US Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...
, and the
Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening The Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) is composed of nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organizations dedicated to advancing and supporting democratic practices and institutions around the globe. Established i ...
. The NDI also receives contributions from governments, foundations, multilateral institutions, corporations, organizations, and individuals. Some of these institutions include the
Government of Australia,
Government of Denmark,
Government of Belgium and the
Open Society Foundations.
Awards, events, and honors
*
Andi Parhamovich
Andrea Suzanne Parhamovich (June 16, 1978 – January 17, 2007) was a National Democratic Institute employee killed in Baghdad, Iraq, when her convoy was ambushed as she was returning from teaching a class on democracy.
Career
Parhamovich w ...
Fellowship: In 2007 NDI announced the establishment of the Andi Parhamovich Fellowship, named in honor of NDI staff member Andi Parhamovich, who was killed on January 17, 2007, when her convoy was attacked while returning from a political party training session in Baghdad. Each year, the fellowship brings to Washington, DC, a young woman selected from NDI local staff or partner organizations who is deeply involved in building and consolidating democracy in her own country by advancing the participation of women.
*
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...
Democracy Award: Each year NDI hosts a dinner to recognize innovators and activists in the field of democracy. At the dinner, NDI presents the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award, which honors individuals and organizations that have exhibited a sustained commitment to democracy and human rights, and have demonstrated leadership, integrity and courage in their dedication to democratic values and practices.
**Past recipients of the award have included: Senator
Barbara Mikulski, D-MD; Archbishop
Desmond Tutu of South Africa; President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; former United States President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
; former Czech President
Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...
; former United States President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
; Varela Project leader
Oswaldo Payá of Cuba; Burmese democratic leader
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...
; US Ambassador to the United Nations,
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...
; and Tunisians
Yassine Brahim
Yassine Brahim ( ar, ياسين إبراهيم; born 20 February 1966 in Mahdia, Tunisia) is a Tunisian engineer, manager and politician. Leader of the secular liberal Afek Tounes party, he was appointed Minister of Development, Investment and ...
, Rafik Halouani, Wafa Makhlouf, and
Sayida Ounissi.
Reception
The socialist magazine ''
Monthly Review
The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States.
History Establishment
Following ...
'' stated that the terms ''democracy assistance'', ''democracy building'', and ''
democracy promotion'' are rhetorically employed to overpower
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
and
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
resistance to US economic and cultural domination, particularly in Russia and nearby states.
The NDI provided funding to the Cambodian opposition party
Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and was expelled from
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
in August 2017.
In December 2020 China sanctioned three members of the institute, and said the US "blatantly interferes in Hong Kong affairs and grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs".
See also
*
National Endowment for Democracy
*
International Republican Institute
The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. It is committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide by helping political parties to become more issu ...
*
United States Institute of Peace
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Democratic Institute
1983 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Factions in the Democratic Party (United States)
Organizations established in 1983
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Democratic Party (United States)
National Endowment for Democracy
Undesirable organizations in Russia